Is the race card overplayed?

[Alpha1851]

Yes, the race card is WAY overplayed. Affirmative Action is a double standard.

Is it? I think it counters the good ole boy system. How many people found a job b/c they belong to the Masons or belonged to a sorority or fraternity. How many found a job b/c their parents are so and so, and that provides their in. How many found a job due to nepotism.

Go to law school, LGBT folks allegedly have an advantage on the LSAT and in admissions. If we were equal and there was only one slot left, you'd get it. Women and Asians aren't considered minorities, but LGBT folks are.

By the way, if this was a gay guy instead of a black guy, I think some folks would swear up and down that the cops were targeting him b/c he's gay. If sexuality and gender identity were added to Affirmative Action, I think some gay and lesbian nay sayers would change their tune. We despise any advantage, perceived or actual, that is given to others, but we seek out advantages for ourselves. I guess it's human nature.

 

[BabiGayPimp]

The word "racist" has become so overused that it no longer means anything.

I hardly think that's the case, judging by the defensive "Not me!" reaction exibited by some whenever the topic comes up.

 

[ABoyNamedSue]

I just read on Fox News that the case has been dismissed and no charges will be filed. So, I am guessing that because they are dismissing the case that there is something a little beyond fishing going on.

 

[Tadaa]

Are we forgetting that this was in Boston?

 

[ABoyNamedSue]

Just because it is Boston does not mean that racisim does not exist. The fact that the lady identified them as two black men rather than two men shows that color of a person skin is still very important to a lot of people. If race was not an issue she would have said two men.

 

[wraithsa]

i am goin to say yes at the risk of being labled a racist . . . AGAIN

 

[Tadaa]

Just because it is Boston does not mean that racisim does not exist. The fact that the lady identified them as two black men rather than two men shows that color of a person skin is still very important to a lot of people. If race was not an issue she would have said two men.

Like I said, it was in BOSTON! One of the most racist cities in the country.

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

In no particular order:

1) I'm not even going to continue reading The Root's articles on the situation. Gates is the Editor-in-Chief there, and the case he's presenting would break down so quickly it's not even funny. According to him, the police basically showed up and arrested him. Period. There was no explanation as to why they were, no reason for the arrest cited, and no reason for the cops to even be there. He was black; he was arrested. End of story.

Worse than that, his side only works if you knew the guy. You had to know his habits, his ways of doing things, and his perspective. Well, if the cops had known who he was or the woman had known who he was, there wouldn't have been a problem, now would there? The woman would have known it was his house, and so would the cops (no reason for ID at that point). Gates may be a scholar, but he's presenting his case all wrong...

Show me something else, please.

2) I'm going with the cops version because I've read the other. If it's a story, at least the cops had the courtesy to deal with all of the details, and provided some details that could be verified. I love the attitude that the cops can't be trusted, but the newspaper guy with NO details writing for his own paper can be. Of course, let's also ignore that one of the cops was black; once you put on that uniform you're white, right?

3) The description of the two as "black" is hardly racist. Anything that differentiates a person from another person is fine. In a lot of ways, if that's the biggest argument you have that this is a racist incident, then it probably wasn't a racist incident.

4) I figured we wasn't going to spend that much time in jail.

Some specific remarks:
fabulouslyghetto: I don't think that word means what you think it does.

Treborf: Meh; it's just coincidence.

RG

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

fabulouslyghetto: I don't think that word means what you think it does.

It does. If you were asking an objective discussion, why is there only one slant here? Okay maybe it's not insincere, just poorly worded.

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

And fucking hell, is this season over yet? I'm ready for a fucking drought.

As has been noted: Feel lucky the anti-religious threads haven't started in earnest.

To answer, and brow beat, yes, the race card is vastly overplayed, because it is a trump card.

Part of the point here is that overplaying it is causing to lose its strength. At this point, you may get Sharpton to back you, but...You're starting to hit the point that you've just got too many black people hoping that their skin color will exonerate them from breaking the law. At one point you could argue legitimately that profiling did exist; however, when you hit the point that you've got a lot of black people arguing that they were innocent due to profiling even though there's evidence and witnesses that they committed the crime, the profiled defense really starts losing strength.

but the police were called because of a seemingly racial bias(though sometimes i wonder if describing someone by race when giving a description to identify a person doing something illegal is really "bias" at all, unless it's just by race and race ALONE).

Describing by race is not profiling; nailing someone simply because they are black is. I can remove race from the description of what happened (two people using force gain entry into a house) and still see a reason for calling the cops. Color may appear to have something to do with this, but I'm really starting to debate it, especially (ironically) given Gate's four-page interview on his own site....

So for this case, i can say two wrongs don't make a right.

Except that...both wrongs seem to be Gate's....

RG

 

[ABoyNamedSue]

Umm, actually if you look at the statics more black men are in prison than any one group of people. To me that says something is still very much wrong in the USA

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

At one point you could argue legitimately that profiling did exist

At one point? It still happens. I know it's overplayed but just as ridiculous is the notion that it doesn't exist at all, that any black person who proclaims injustice is just some whack job trying to get a free ride.

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

It does. If you were asking an objective discussion, why is there only one slant here? Okay maybe it's not insincere, just poorly worded.

Nope; the question was whether or not the race card is overplayed and a current example of that was supplied. A case was then built based on the facts as given, with (hopefully) legitimate reasons why others were excluded.

In essence, I've stated a topic, and honestly backed that topic. Although I can see where it would seem racist, that was not the intent and I think it would take extreme logic in order to make it so. I'm noticing an interesting trend (that the race card is losing its power due to overuse) and attempting to get comments on it.

Ergo: The word was used in a situation where it doesn't apply (ie, I'm not being dishonest nor otherwise attempting to give a false appearance of my goals). In fact, I've been rather frank about them.

So, yeah; I don't think that word means what you think it does...

RG

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

Nope; the question was whether or not the race card is overplayed and a current example of that was supplied. A case was then built based on the facts as given, with (hopefully) legitimate reasons why others were excluded.

In essence, I've stated a topic, and honestly backed that topic. Although I can see where it would seem racist, that was not the intent and I think it would take extreme logic in order to make it so. I'm noticing an interesting trend (that the race card is losing its power due to overuse) and attempting to get comments on it.

Ergo: The word was used in a situation where it doesn't apply (ie, I'm not being dishonest nor otherwise attempting to give a false appearance of my goals). In fact, I've been rather frank about them.

So, yeah; I don't think that word means what you think it does...

RG

So is there no second side? Why did you ask a question you already knew the answer to?

PS: One story doesn't = empirical data. If that's the case, I could post one story of one long-term smoker that didn't get cancer and say "Smoking doesn't cause cancer."

 

[bounder]

By the way, the award for Dumbest Quotation of the Year is awarded to Mr. Gates:

Gates told the Washington Post: "There are one million black men in jail in this country and last Thursday I was one of them. This is outrageous and this is how poor black men across the country are treated every day in the criminal justice system. It's one thing to write about it, but altogether another to experience it."

Is Mr. Gates implying that race should be a factor in court cases? If someone does something wrong -- black, white, gay, straight -- they go to jail. Period. Should we start releasing prisoners from our jails so that the racial makeup is even and politically correct?

ummm... the issue here is that he didn't do anything wrong. And while it's not the case all the time, there are plenty of instances where blacks are wrongfully treated/arrested by law enforcement and it's not a coincidence. When you break the law, there are rights you forfeit but those are consequences of your indiscretions. However, when you really didn't do anything and have your rights taken from you, it's a completely different story.

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

ummm... the issue here is that he didn't do anything wrong. And while it's not the case all the time, there are plenty of instances where blacks are wrongfully treated/arrested by law enforcement and it's not a coincidence. When you break the law, there are rights you forfeit but those are consequences of your indiscretions. However, when you really didn't do anything and have your rights taken from you, it's a completely different story.

Of course that's true, but it was conveniently glazed over for the sake of making a "point."

 

[bounder]

You're starting to hit the point that you've just got too many black people hoping that their skin color will exonerate them from breaking the law.

RG

Who are you talking about here?

 

[Apollo]

Of course that's true, but it was conveniently glazed over for the sake of making a "point."

I am continuinly amazed at your ability to find a picture for everything.

I have tried to google this stuff, and never get half of it.

Especially not your neverending list of .gif pics

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

At one point? It still happens. I know it's overplayed but just as ridiculous is the notion that it doesn't exist at all, that any black person who proclaims injustice is just some whack job trying to get a free ride.

Now, this IS disingenuous. I've never said that a black person claiming injustice is a "whack job trying to get a free job"; just those SPECIFICALLY using the race card who shouldn't be. The guy doing thirty miles above the limit, the guy attacking the grocery cart; even the guy backing up in an area where backing up is a no-no: All three of these guys used their skin color as a reason why the cop was in the wrong and not their actions.

Bottom Line: I agree that there is some racism in the mix. However, I'm seeing cries of false racism obscuring the situation.

ABoyNamedSue: And I agree that this is a problem. At the same time, between the glamorization of crime (a rap star sued a paper for libel because they reported his true crimes (which were less than he claimed) and an Image award going to a violent homophobe), disrespecting authority (most notably in the no-snitch movement), and protection of gangs by their neighborhoods (do some quick research on the Broderick gang in Sacramento), and it's hard to build an argument that the numbers are unfounded.

No offense, but if you want to see the numbers decrease, nailing the cops for profiling is probably the worst place to start...

RG

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

I am continuinly amazed at your ability to find a picture for everything.

I have tried to google this stuff, and never get half of it.

Especially not your neverending list of .gif pics

Come to my room and I'll show you my secret. Bring lube. And condoms.